


Lord Tywin's Smile

by Hope4thehopeless



Series: A Lannister Legacy [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: A cute little moment, Alternate Universe, Children, Domestic Fluff, Forced Marriage, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Is Tywin kind of out of character?, Older Man/Younger Woman, Parent-Child Relationship, Part of a bigger project I'm working on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-17 22:18:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11277894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hope4thehopeless/pseuds/Hope4thehopeless
Summary: At eight years old, Tyran Lannister has never seen his father smile. It isn't until an ungodly hot summer day when he recklessly jumped off the cliffs with his younger brother that he sees such a thing.(A One-Shot from a larger series that I am working on called A Lannister Legacy)





	Lord Tywin's Smile

**Author's Note:**

> A little one-shot.

_Casterly Rock, the Westernlands_

_Late July, 293 A.C._

At eight, nearly nine, Tyran Lannister stood still. He was trying not to fidget or shift his weight, but it was nearly impossible. His younger brother by only a year, Tyland, stood beside him. Sitting behind the great desk in front of the fireplace, Lord Tywin Lannister sat writing a note, completely ignoring them. The only sound in the hot room was the quill in his lord father's hand moving across the parchment. No one dared to say a word or even move lest his father see or hear them.

It had all begun as honest fun and that was what he'd tell his lord father. Trying to climb to the highest point of the cliffs had been a competition between him and Tyland. Jumping off the cliffs into the Sunset Sea had been a just reward for their troubles. The days had become unbearably hot and they knew how to swim. It had only been logical to seek out the ocean to cool their burning skin after their morning drills in the yard with Ser Benedict Broom, the master-at-arms of Casterly Rock. Only last night after dinner, their lady mother had complained to their father that the days were hotter than she could ever remember. Lord Lannister had agreed and suggested a cool bath later, something that his lady mother had blushed at.

Tyran hadn't understood what had caused such a reaction from his mother. It had been a simple suggestion, a good suggestion. His father had been right, a cool dip in the ocean had soothed away the unbearable heat that had plagued them for the past few weeks. That was how he and Tyland had gotten the idea. Lying in bed the night before, a memory had surfaced. Jamie, their older brother, had told them about the cliff on his last visit to the Rock weeks before. All one had to do was take the tunneled staircase down to the beaches and turn left. At the water's edge close to the cliff wall, one was able to climb up a narrow part of rock. It was almost fifty feet up, but there was a passage that was just wide enough for a small man to cross. A small jut of rock pushed out far enough that one could safely jump into the sea. A person could jump and safely avoid any rocks below. Diving into the clear blue water of the ocean and the cool reprieve it offered from the unbearable heat, Tyran had surfaced and firmly believed that the cliffs were the best idea he'd ever had. He had promised himself to write a letter to Jamie, thanking his older brother for telling him and Tyland about it. He and Tyland had jumped half a dozen times before his lord father's steward, a sour smelling man named Bertrum, had caught them and stopped their fun. A dozen soldiers had brought them back to the main courtyard where Ser Benedict Broom had been waiting with Vylarr.

Vylarr, the captain of the guard at Casterly Rock, had escorted them to his father's private solar where they'd been shown inside and left to await their father. The imposing room was large with one side of the room opened to an outside balcony. Seven pillars stood while sheer white drapery danced from the slight breeze coming from the Lord's gardens. However, even the slight breeze couldn't fight back the oppressive heat that was present in the air. Behind the desk, their imposing lord father sat writing. He had not said a single word since they'd entered and Tyran wondered how anyone could sit and write letters when it was so hot. Watching his father, the tension in the room was enough to make Tyran wish that he could crawl out of his skin. Next to him, Tyland swallowed with fear and shot him a small terrified look from the corner of his eye. Tyran could recall the last punishment that they'd gotten from their father and his back still automatically ached from the memory.

He hadn't set foot near the kitchens since and every time he was close to the cooks and serving wenches, he had the urge to runaway lest it was claimed that he stole sweets from the pantry again. He barely touched the lemon cakes his mother offered and only ate them out of politeness. Tyland must have been thinking the same thing as they stood still, waiting for whatever punishment they'd receive from their lord father for jumping off the cliffs. Jamie had told them about the lashings that he'd gotten as a result of his foolishness and Tyran wondered if they'd get lashings too. It was possible and he hated to think of the discomfort that would be coupled with the oppressive heat. It would be misery unlike anything that he'd ever experienced in his short life.

Suddenly, the latch to his father's door creaked and the door swung open. The sound broke the stillness of the air and Tyran barely breathed.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw a small head of dark red hair poke around the wood and iron door. He inwardly groaned as he turned around and faced his father again. Juliana, their young sister smiled as she looked into their father's private solar. Three years younger than Tyland, Juliana was only four, but she possessed an uncanny ability to sweet talk their father into giving her exactly what she wanted. It was a talent that Tyran had never seen another soul possess. It was her giggle that caused their lord father to look up and beckon her forward with a motion from his hand. It was obvious that she'd escaped her nurse again and Tyran didn't understand why some people didn't just call her Lann the Clever. She had a habit outsmarting the nursery maids and slipping off when she shouldn't. Lord Tywin's imposing figure did not frighten their sister, nor did the hard, unyielding look he wore that would have made a lesser man run with fear. She'd interrupted their lord father's letter writing, something that no one ever interrupted, including their lady mother.

Juliana danced into the room with a hand behind her back, and her doll, Princess Maude, tucked under her other arm. She moved to stand across from their father at the desk. She was fearless as she offered up an open hand to show their lord father what was in her palm. Didn't she realize that their father was a lion and would easily yell at her next after he finished yelling at his two older sons for their stupidity?

"I have lost another tooth, Father," she declared happily. "Mama says that I deserve a reward for my v-valiant efforts to remove it. I have sat and wiggled it all morning with Princess Maude's help."

"And what should your reward be for wasting your morning away like your brothers?" His father asked lazily, his eyes never leaving the page as he wrote.

Juliana was too young to hear the anger in their father's words, but Tyran doubted that his father would have said such a thing if it hadn't been for his annoyance in his sons.

"I should have one gold piece for every year that I have been alive. It was quite a lot of work to wiggle the tooth out. Just like it's lots of work growing, that's what the maester told me today when we talked about my name-day. Mama told me that we're having a picnic tomorrow down on the beach to celebrate!"

 _Greedy_ , Tyran thought. His little sister was greedy and their father was going to tell her so. Tyland looked at their sister with narrow eyes as he shifted his weight between his feet. His father stopped writing and looked over at Juliana, his emotionless gaze made Tyran shift nervously as well on his sister's behalf. Juliana was delicate, sweet, and all good. He didn't think that she'd be able to take a tongue lashing if their father gave it to her. Only once before had Juliana gotten in trouble and even then, their father had sat her on his knee and gently chastised her, explaining that she could not slide down the bannisters of the steps. Juliana had vowed never to do such a thing again. It wasn't ladylike and her chastisement had ended with a kiss on the cheek and pat on the head. Tyran was certain that he and Tyland had never been given such treatment. His father was harder with them. It wasn't unfair treatment, his mother had told him. He and Tyland were boys and Juliana was a girl. His father treated them differently because they were different. Today, however, Tyran wondered if his father's patience with Juliana would end. He looked quite annoyed with her and clenched his fist tightly for a moment.

"Is that so?" Lord Tywin's voice was gentle and soft as he spoke, a complete contrast to his body language. Juliana nodded, the happy smile on her face never wavering. She tapped on the teeth that surrounded the empty hole in her mouth where the other teeth had been, showing their lord father where the tooth had been hours before.

"See?"

"Should I forfeit your reward for failing to knock on the door?"

Tyland nearly snickered.

Juliana looked horrified for a brief moment, her eyes wide like saucers. She dropped Princess Maude on the floor and raced back across the private solar, closing the door behind her. His sister was determined to be a proper lady just like their mother. Anytime someone told her that she'd missed a moment to be a proper lady, Juliana would rectify the situation before continuing, no matter what was happening. A second later, a soft knock echoed through the chamber. His lord father looked up at the ceiling briefly and Tyran couldn't tell if it was from annoyance or something else.

"Enter," he called, his voice low.

Juliana entered and bobbed a half-hearted curtsey before she came racing back to the desk and picking up Princess Maude off the floor. She was standing so close to the desk that her hands rested onto of the smooth, waxed surface with her chin balancing on her knuckles. 

"May I have my reward now, please?" She asked with a hopeful smile as she bounced on her feet.

Next to him, Tyland nearly snorted next to him and suppressed the noise that he would have made otherwise. His father shot them a look that made the room feel chilly. There was no warmth in his hard, icy gaze. Instead, Tyran saw a warning that should they misbehave, their punishments would be worse than they could ever imagine. Instantly, Tyran stood still, fearing to move or even breath. Easily, his father reached out for the drawer next to his seat and opened it. He pulled out a red velvet purse and slipped his hand inside for a moment. Lord Tywin leaned forward when he set the gold pieces down in front of Juliana. His sister bounced on her toes with excitement at her reward and set her lost tooth down on the polished desk in exchange for the gold.

"One for each year," their father pronounced as he put the velvet purse away. He rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and looked expectantly at the little girl. "Now, back to the nursery with you, Juliana. I'm sure that the maids are looking for you."

The word 'again' lingered in the air and Tyran wondered at how many times his sister had caused a flutter of worry amongst the maids of the castle. She always seemed to be slipping away and his mother always seemed to be on the verge of dismissing the nursery staff for foolishly losing his sister while the guards frantically looked for the little girl. It was always his mother's fear that Juliana would fall down one of the many flights of steps and hurt herself.

"Yes, but you're wrong, Father," Juliana stated as she looked at the stack of gold pieces that had been placed down in front of her. Tyran forgot to breathe. The last person that had told Lord Tywin that he was wrong had been whipped in the yard until he'd been rendered unconscious. It had been a gruesome lesson to learn, never to publicly question his father. Tyran had never contradicted their father, publicly or privately, nor had Tyland. No one ever did except maybe their mother and such occurrences was rare. Juliana was either blazingly stupid to say such a thing or she had no sense of survival and when to fear a man.

"Am I?" Lord Tywin asked, his eyes narrowing slightly at Juliana. His tone was gentle, but hard. Anyone else would have run from the room or peed themselves in fright, Tyran thought. His eyes darted nervously between his father and sister.

Did Juliana not realize the trouble she was causing?

"I am five, not four," she said taking the stack of gold pieces apart and counting with a sweet smile on her face. "One, two, three, four. Mama said that I was born so late in the night that she can't remember if I was born very late tonight or very early tomorrow. She said that I was a great pain and that she doesn't remember much except smiling when I was born. I asked her after breakfast today. Since she can't remember, I think that I was born today and I am five. Five coins for five years old."

Lord Tywin made a noise in the back of his throat. His green eyes softened a little as he leaned towards Juliana, "She might not remember when exactly you were born, but I do. I had just returned from the Greyjoy Rebellion. You were born shortly after the bells tolled midnight. Your mother was very happy that you and I have same eyes. I remember that clearly, even if she does not. Tomorrow, you'll be five years old, not today."

Juliana pouted and for a moment no one said a word. Tyran watched his little sister do what she could do so well. Tyland narrowed his own eyes with annoyance at their sister. Finally, their father moved and opened the velvet purse that was in his drawer and pulled one more gold coin out. A bright smile overcame Juliana's face as he set it down in front of her.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five," she said happily, counting her gold coins before scooping them off the desk and into her hands. "Thank you, Father!"

Princess Maude was tucked under her arm as she turned around to look at them. His sister looked triumphant as she held her chin up and exaggerated her stance to look like their father did when he was lecturing them on what it meant to be a Lannister.

"Lannisters are not silly," Juliana declared, mimicking their father's mannerisms. "We're lords and ladies of a great and noble house. We don't jump off cliffs, even if brother Jamie says that it is fun. Besides, you shouldn't skip your lessons either. The maester made me sit longer while we waited for you to show up and you never came. I missed having a tea party with Princess Maude today."

Tyland groaned aloud and Tyran closed his eye briefly.

Their little sister had confessed their other crime without even realizing it. Without another word, their little sister cradled her coins in her hands and crossed the room, mimicking how their lady mother walked with her back straight and her shoulders back. She scampered out of the solar and Lord Tywin snorted. He pulled at the strings of the velvet purse, setting the purse back in the drawer before he closed it. Briefly, Tyran thought could hear a far off exchange of words between his sister and mother in the corridor outside as he stood still, waiting in fear of what would happen next. 

"That my little daughter has more sense than the both of my sons is disgraceful," Lord Tywin stated, looking at them with a hard glare that made it almost impossible to look back at him. "We're Lannisters, not fools. The maester is waiting for you in the library for your lessons and punishments. Should I ever hear of you two jumping off a cliff again, I will shove you from the highest cliff of Casterly Rock myself and teach you what a fall from the cliffs is truly like. Go, now."

The promise of future retribution made both of them gulp with fear. Tyland did not need to be told a second time to leave. He was on his younger brother's heels as they fled the private solar and nearly walked into their lady mother. Her skirts were thinner than usual, owing to the heat and she smiled at them gently once they had righted themselves. In Tyran's mind, his mother was the prettiest woman in the world, even if she looked tried today and exhausted from the afternoon heat. Her long hair was pulled back into a bun with a few pieces escaping and curling from the heat. The color of her hair was dark red, almost brown. Tyran couldn't tell if her hair was actually red or if it was simply the sun that changed the way it looked. All he knew was that he was jealous that he did not have dark hair like his mother and Juliana. He and Tyland had inherited their father's blond hair and features. Sometimes, he hated being told he and Tyland had all the looks of his lord father. He and Tyland were exact copies, that what his mother had told him. He was an exact copy of Lord Lannister from head to toe. His lady mother looked at them with an arched brow that made him feel as thought she could easily see through them and knew what they'd been doing.

"You're not hurt from your silly adventure today, are you? I was scared that something might have happened to you," she said gently as she knelt down and looked them both over. Tyran felt her hand lightly caress his shoulders. He wanted to hug her tightly, beg her not to worry about them, and reassure her that they weren't hurt. Acute shame filled him as he thought about the worry his mother might have experienced because of him and Tyland.

"No, mother," Tyland answered dutifully. "We're not hurt."

"I would be heartbroken if something happen to either of my darling boys," she said softly as she touched the tops of their heads and stood with a smile.

The last time he'd felt so badly was a year ago when he'd declared to his mother that she wasn't allowed to kiss him in public, he was seven and growing and he did not want to look weak in front of the other boys that he trained with in the yard. They had teased him and he'd been sick of being laughed at. It was only later that he'd heard his mother crying to his lord father about the words and calling herself 'silly' for her tears. The next day, Tyran had hugged his mother tightly in front of the boys that he trained in the yard with under Ser Benedict before the evening meal. He hadn't cared, he just hadn't wanted his mother to cry again. She'd given him a wonderful smile that had made him feel as if nothing in the world could ever hurt him and it had all been worth the wonderful feeling that filled him. He hadn't even cared that the boys had bullied him later for hugging her, calling him weak and a mother's boy. Tyland had simply told him to beat the boys up in the yard to prove that they were Lannisters and not weak. It was exactly what he'd done and to this day, no one dared to call him weak for hugging his mother.

"We promise not to jump off the cliff again," Tyland promised solemnly and Tyran nodded in agreement. His mother smiled with happiness and nodded.

Tyran let Tyland explain that they had to get to their lesson with the maester and his mother told them to hurry with her gentle smile. Tyland nodded, but Tyran was rooted to the spot unable to move. Down the corridor, she moved towards the opened door of his father's solar. The soft whisper of her silk skirts on the marble floor made his father look up briefly before looking back down. Tyran watched his mother walk into the private solar and his father promptly stopped writing his letter. The Great Lion looked up at his wife as she walked toward the desk.

She was the only person that Tyran had ever seen command his father's attention. His mother was the only person that would approach his father when he was raging and she was the only person who could bring him out of a rage sometimes. Unlike soldiers and men that ran from his father's rage and glares, his mother would simply wear a look of serenity on her face. She never ran from his father's anger or in fear as others did. It was a feat that was admired and left many in awe. He heard the servants talk about the unshakable sway that his mother had over his father, but Tyran mostly ignored the talk. He admired his mother's bravery. He someday wanted to be as brave as she was in the face of the unknown.

"I saw Juliana in the corridor a moment ago with her nurse. Somehow, our daughter had five gold coins in her hands," his mother said as she held out her hand to his father. "I negotiated four of the coins back for you, my lord husband. I do believe that I deserve a reward of my own. You told me that I should have a cool bath, perhaps you should join me? You can tell me how you lost so much gold to a little girl."

Tyran didn't understand why his mother would want to share the cool water with his father, it was too hot to share any cool water. His lord father said nothing, simply let his mother drop the coins into the outstretched hand. The Great Lion of Casterly Rock replaced the gold where it had been in the red velvet purse as their mother leaned against the desk next to where his lord father sat. Instead of returning to letter writing, his lord father leaned back in his chair and looked at his lady mother with a soft expression on his face. Tyran recognized the look as the one that was reserved for his mother and his mother alone. His father only looked at his mother like that when the Lord of Casterly Rock thought that no one else was watching him.

"Jumping off the cliffs is not as bad as being swindled out of money by your greedy daughter," his mother continued. "Why do I have the feeling that she did not have to try very hard to get the extra coins from you?"

It was the first time in his life that Tyran Lannister saw his father smile a true smile.

It was not one of his half smiles that he sometimes gave his children, but true smile that lit his entire face, softening his features for the single moment that it appeared. The smile was entirely for his mother and no one else. His father stood and before Tyran could say anything to his brother or hear his father's response, Tyland pulled him down the hallway and out of sight.

 

 

 

 

Link: <https://www.pinterest.com/Late_Night/a-lannister-legacy/>

**Author's Note:**

> You made it! Let me know what you think! It's just a little one-shot that I have lying around from a larger series that I'm working on called A Lannister Legacy. The link above and below has details about the project! Leave a comment and let me know what you think!:)  
> Thank you for reading. 
> 
> Link: https://www.pinterest.com/Late_Night/a-lannister-legacy/


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